liqualube bearing system

[Digger]

There has been some discussion on this before, but I want to add a personal testimonial. Check out their product at www.liqualube.com (http://www.liqualube.com)

essentially you replace all the grease with a close fitting reservoir and seal which contains a liquid form lubricant which splash lubes your bearings. The reservoir caps are clear and are visually inspected at a glance.

my experience so far:
--the hubs do not even get warm after hrs at highway speeds. which is remarkable for my trailer, my hubs used to get pretty warm even though I was anal about grease and good bearings.
--the visual inspection is a no-brainer. As opposed to grease.
--the reservor caps do not stick out farther than the outside dimension of the tire, meaning no worries about scraping it off at a toll booth or on a curb.
--and the best part is, no more messy grease gunz!

[Darrell]

FarmerTX had a set on his trailer, I checked them out at the TRII. Looks like a great setup, it's on my winter project list.

Darrell

[JimG]

How do these compare to the Tie-Down Turbo-Lube hubs that BoatUS carries? These use 50wt oil as a lube.

Turbo Lube (http://www.tiedown.com/turbo.html)

[Cuda]

I was at Owen's and Sons shop a while back, and asked both the brothers what they thought about them. They weren't in favor of them. The reason being if one of the reseviors got knocked off or cracked, you're bearings are toast within a mile. If you lose a buddy bearing, you can still go quite a way with the grease that is already on the bearings.

[farmer tx]

If you have the one piece brakedrum and hub there may be some fab work involved with the Turbo brand. But it can be overcome. http://www.donzi.net/photos/april03001.jpg

[Digger]

Cuda, thats a valid point and I considered that. However to me it comes down to risk vs reward. I believe the rewards outweigh the risk by a longshot with the splash lube type. Also they've been in use for years on long haul tractor trailers. If they weren't good the people who make their living on the road wouldn't use them. IMHO.

[Scott Pearson]

Digger,
I have them on my Rolls Trailer. 15,000 miles and not a worry.

Also you are right about the over the road trailers.
Our tag along has them on all 6 axles. I haul a 38,000lb 160 Deere and I dont baby it on the open highway...70-75mph. Have blown a few tires though...lol

Was a little over weight last week.....98,900lbs on the rolloff....God...if I ever got pulled over on that one....I would still be in jail. And going over 4 ton bridges dosnt help...........


(NJ)Scott

[MOP]

This looks more like different strokes for different folks, being I have serviced trailers for a lot of years I will stick with grease for the above reason of possibly loosing or damaging a cap. If you want cold hubs use Mobil 1 or similar synthetic grease, on my 500 trip to the 1000 isalnds I towed at 70+ and the hubs stayed cool. I also carry a spare plain cap and grease and a spare tire they kind of go hand in hand.

[mattyboy]

Pearson please,
you might have towed 15,000 miles but I've seen you tow,!!! the wheels are never on the ground and probably have a 1000 miles on them eek! wink :D

Matty

[JimG]

I bought a set of TurboLubes last night. $49.99 at BoatersWorld for the big ones. Very nicely packaged, looks like a good product. I'll be installing them tonite.

Goodbye grease!! And good riddance! :D

[JimG]

Hey Cuda, I've found that some of the opinions of the bearing guys are somewhat suspect. I stopped at one our top bearing/hub suppliers here, and the owner told me to NEVER USE BEARING BUDDIES! Even in salt water! He said they are totally unnecessary, and most people over grease them. Of course I smiled, nodded and promptly went out and pumped more grease into my Bearing Buddies! wink

[harbormaster]

Jim,

Document and photograph the install. We'll post it.

[harbormaster]

Jim,

Document and photograph the install. We'll post it.

[Cuda]

JimG:
Hey Cuda, I've found that some of the opinions of the bearing guys are somewhat suspect. I stopped at one our top bearing/hub suppliers here, and the owner told me to NEVER USE BEARING BUDDIES! Even in salt water! He said they are totally unnecessary, and most people over grease them. Of course I smiled, nodded and promptly went out and pumped more grease into my Bearing Buddies! wink Yeah, I've heard some say they can pack a bearing with a regular cap and it won't fail. I don't know about that. I do know that since I've found that if I refill the buddy bearings when I first get back from boating instead of when I'm leaving the next time, I haven't had a bearing failure yet.